Is US Behind ‘Rogue’ General’s Libya Coup?

On May 14, the US Marines announced the deployment of 200 marines to Sicily, in southern Italy, as a “crisis response” force for Libya. They did so at the behest of the US State Department, who at the time insisted there was no specific threat, nor any imminent plan to evacuate the embassy in Tripoli.

Just four days later, General Khalifa Hifter and his self-proclaimed Libyan National Army attacked Tripoli, took over parliament, and announced his intention to “purge” the nation of Islamists, starting with the parliamentarians themselves.

It’s Gen. Hifter’s second attempted coup this year, and seems to be going quite a bit better than the February fiasco, which began with statements announcing his takeover, and never really expanded much beyond that. The timing of the marine deployment suggests this latest move did not come as a major surprise to the administration, but Hifter’s US connections may run much deeper.

Gen. Hifter got his start, and his generalship, as a close ally of Moammar Gadhafi, but changed sides when he was captured during the failed late 80’s invasion of Chad. Released at the behest of the US, after which he was set up as a military leader in the National Front for the Salvation of Libya (NFSL), a rebel faction based out of Chad which was backed by the CIA.

His post-revolution career has been perplexing, as Gen. Hifter has hung around in Libya, and often claimed to be a leader, if not the leader, in the Libyan military, but never seems to have been formally appointed to any post of serious power.

Eventually, the general got his army, or at least his self-styled army, forming the Libyan National Army, which has no official connection to Libya’s actual army, but inexplicably has at times been able to muster attack helicopters and artillery in attacks on Islamist groups. The “army” has been fighting an on-again, off-again crusade against Islamist factions, with the government of former Prime Minister (and former NFSL leader) Ali Zeidan mostly looking the other way.

His attack on Benghazi on Friday seemed to change things considerably, and the new Libyan government was harshly critical of the operation, even sending the real military to the outskirts of the city to prevent either side from bringing more reinforcements to the battle.

Instead of being chastened by his lack of a government imprimatur, Hifter’s forces marched straight for Tripoli, and by Sunday had taken over the airport and parliament. General Hifter has since castigated parliament as a den of Islamists,

Whether the coup lasts remains to be seen, but he hit parliament just hours after Prime Minister Ahmed Malteeq finally formed the first post-Zeidan government, after two months of infighting over cabinet positions,

Though a self-described independent, Prime Minister Malteeq was openly backed by several Islamist parties in the battle for premiership, which no doubt played a role in Gen. Hifter’s objection to his government.

Gen. Hifter has bragged about his US backing in the past, though exactly where he stands with the US at present is as unclear as where he stands within Libya’s military command. Anticipatory actions ahead of the coup, however, suggest that whatever prompted Hifter’s attack, it was not a surprise in the US.

USA Inc. keeps available ready-to-use-governments for any country worldwide.
They are professional imperialists.
Just check the US Army papers about their "unconventional warfare" tactics here: (in the middle)http://08oo.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/key-reasons-…

I did not think that it was a question. He was on CIA payroll, lived in Northern Virginia for decades, then injected into the post-revolution Libya. As Libya did not have foreign troups to manage post-revolutionary chaos, the west tried every known trick from the bag of "democracy", to arrange political pawns and give Hafter a key role. Did not work. As Benghazi was slipping away from Tripoli controls, and with it, its key oil assets — it was time for less democratic approach. His "army" is mercenary, and it does not matter if they are Libyans or not. Money for such operation in Benghazi does not come from heaven, be that Allah or some other god. Hefter has only one source of financial and military support, and that is US and some European countries. Inability to secure Libya's oil and gas is a factor in today's push against Russian energy in Europe, and is the main reason for hastening the Libyan operations. But this time, they believe that eliminating those that are not obedient from the Parlament in Tripoli is the key to get military assests of Libya under control, and then deal with Behghazi rebellion. It is clear that he has advanced weapons, and it is clear who is supplying them. And US military is on stand-by. The problem with this approach is — Libya is fractured, and everybody is armed. Guns given to mercenaries, especially foreign, can be useless in tribally organized society. One has to know their "code". The whole strategy looks risky, as the depth of tribal country goes much deeper then Benghazi and Tripoli. The idea that one can just take over Parliament and then militarily secure Behghazi's oil export, seem a bit simplistic and not sustainable. But then, neocons do not understand the language of "in the long run", or "this will be bad for America". These for them are mere apstractions, and the key is to grab what can easily be grabbed now. There is nothing new since neocon driven Kennedy administraton stepped into war for global dominance in Vietnam, to another neocon driven global prize, Ukraine.

Some very good points in here. Raised I think an important question in my mind. Does anyone know anything about this guy's relationship with powerful indigenous Libyan forces, such as the Misurata militia?

The Misrata militias are Islamists like Brotherhood/Al-Qaeda who are paid by the so called "government" to protect them. They are one big power. The other big power are the Zintan militias and Hiftar, who were just joined by other secular forces.

No, DEFINITELY it is not. We are so overwhelmed by neocon language, that their simplistic images of good vs. evil, islamists vs. liberal forces actually works — and we call ourselves intelligent and educated? Today, there is NO SUCH THING as Islamist. Each situation accross the spectrum of muslim world is different. One cannot compare Muslim Brotherhood, an attemp to use religion for achieving purely nationalistic goals in the predatory globalism we have today, and Saudi/US inspired global call for internationalist islam, Salafism. Salafism has thousands of off-shoots, and is in many ways local. But the money and political coverage, as well as arms, made them the most usefull tool of predatory globalism. Poor, without hope, many people from Pakistan to Balkans, fell victim to Saudi/US financing of their communties. Food and other household necessities, are distributed as humantiarian aid (Gulen movement in US, that is trying to radicalize Sufi Suni religion in Turkey), or help with money and arms to Sunni sects to conduct terrorist operations against civilians in Russia, or arming to teeth Salafis in Iraq to insure continous chaos and prevent economic development, or arming Salafi groups in Syria, just as we did once in Bosnia and Kosovo. Same problems stirred up in Yemen, Mali, etc. In Egypt, Salafis have pushed Muslim Brotherhood out of power by a coup, and are now proceeding to exterminate them, to take nationalism and idea of independence out of their heads.

In Libya, Salafis were instrumental in removing old regime, and predictably afterwards, created chaos and anarchy. The attempts by US neocon masterminds to install "libaral" democracy backfired, as the garden variety of tribal — that is nationalistic, and salafi — internationalists under banner of Wahhabi Saudi Arabia, clashed. The anarchy did not bother anyone for as long as oil revenues were under control. As the Benghazi based tribes took control of those — neocon plan B is in operation. More risky for US then plan A. This time, our assets are attampting to take over control, and may end up with ground troops. This will unite garden variety of nationalist/internationalists, and again, JUST SPENDING MONEY for neocon bright schemas. I do not doubt that they already have a story for us, the idiots. The story will be how they are hunting those responsible for killing US ambassador, and the sheeple will be mesmerized again.

Interesting that Nostradamus predicted the rise of a man he called Hister, which many interpreters, after the fact of Hitler's rise to power, took to be Hitler. Hister, according to Nostradamus, would be responsible for a world devastating war. Nostradamus, using the conventions of his time, wrote using a modified "s" which looks more like an "f," so early copies of Nostradamus' prophecies referred to a man named "Hifter." Not saying there's anything to this, it's just interesting.

I was struck by the propriety of the name – so close to Hitler's – given the facts surrounding his emergence, i. e., CIA involvement and the like. Any possibility that his second in command is named Goering?

Another interpretation of Nostradamus's writing is that 'Hister' meant 'Ister', the ancient name of the Danube River, not a person. I don't put too much stock in anything Nostradamus wrote 450 years ago–there was also his famous prophesy about a major war or global catastrophe in July of 1999 that failed to occur and the rest of his prophetic verses, called "quatrains" are all so vague they could be about almost anything.

Wonder if Victoria 'Kagan' Nuland is going to be giving the Marines cookies as they land — or were the Cookies in Kiev only for the 'disguised' CIA and JSOC Seals of the Disguised Global Empire?

Best to the 3-5% of the truly informed vanguard of Americans (within the 99%) in this fast expanding 'Pro-democracy Anti-Empire' educational and non-violent revolutionary movement (in the Green Party) against this deceitful and Disguised Global EMPIRE, which is "Occupying" our country and yet can't so easily be identified, by the deluded majority, as wearing Red Coats, Red Stars, nor funny looking Nazi helmets —- quite YET!

We don't merely have a "Big Money"/Citizens United problem, or a domestic tyranny and NSA SPYING problem, or an NDAA Secret Detention problem, or a corrupt unSupreme Court problem, or a gun/fear problem, or an MIC problem, or an 'Austerity' problem, or an EXPANDING WARS problem, or a 'drone assassinations' problem, or a vast income & wealth inequality problem, or a Wall Street 'looting' problem, or a Global Warming and environmental death-spiral problem, or the world's largest political prisoner problem, or a crappy un-healthy insurance problem, or ****ty over-priced and exclusive educational access problem, or, or, or … ad nauseam — but what we REALLY have is a hidden VEMPIRE cancerous tumor of GLOBAL EMPIRE which is the prime CAUSE of all these underlying, related, and mere 'symptom problems' —- but not even the most progressive voices
in the alternative media agree or dare raise a United Voice against this dangerous EMPIRE —- and which is why Kerry, Obama and the DGE they 'front-for' is scared ****less that RT TV's message of pointing the finger at the real Disguised Global Empire is so dangerous to their global facade of supposed US freedom, democracy, equality, and justice, all of which is such an obvious bull**** disguise of the real DGE.

Seriously though, what you describe is dead on, though I will argue that it is not hidden nor disguised. It is the people who are unable to see it because they've been trained not to see it. And when it is pointed out to them, they poo-poo the idea because they've also been trained to defend the USg no matter what the facts are – that the US (government) is always right and sacred…you know, protecting our "freedoms."

BTW, I was just up your way last week – couple of days running around Mt. Desert – eatin' some lobster, drinkin' some beer…and then walking it all off up and down the isle – and no rain of fog!!!

curmudgeonvt, you are certainly right in saying that "it's not so much 'disguised', as It is the people who are unable to see it because they've been trained not to see it" and have allowed themselves to be purblind to Empire.

BTW, thanks for visiting Maine (the other good northern New England state). Yes, MDI is fun — as is lobstah and beer(s) — and you were 'some lucky' to have good weathah.

Best to the 3-5% of the truly informed vanguard of Americans (within the 99%) in this fast expanding 'Pro-democracy Anti-Empire' educational and non-violent revolutionary movement (in the Green Party) against this deceitful and Disguised Global EMPIRE, which is "Occupying" our country and yet can't so easily be identified, by the deluded majority, as wearing Red Coats, Red Stars, nor funny looking Nazi helmets —- quite YET!